Battle of Guilberville

The Battle of Guilberville occurred on 23 July 1944 when two United States divisions attempted a breakout at the village of Guilberville, not too far from the besieged city of Saint-Lo, during Operation Cobra. The Americans were met by fierce resistance from the Wehrmacht forces in the area, which consisted of both infantry and armored forces. In the ensuing battle, both sides suffered serious losses, and the Americans came close to achieving the breakout. However, the arrival of additional German armor led to stalemate, and the Americans were forced to pull back to their original positions. There, they held off German attacks, with American paratroopers showing their courage in fighting off several German thrusts to the north. While the Americans failed in achieving a breakout at Guilberville, they managed to distract two German divisions from the main attack, and they inflicted serious casualties.

Background
In late July 1944, US Army General Omar Bradley devised a plan to break out of Normandy and move on the French capital of Paris to liberate the country from Axis occupation. Codenamed "Operation Cobra", the American breakout from Normandy would take place at the town of Saint-Lo, and the breakout was spearheaded by 8 infantry divisions and 3 armored divisions (2,451 tanks and tank destroyers). The German forces in Normandy, commanded by Gunther von Kluge, were strong, however. The Americans faced two infantry divisions, one parachute division, four panzer divisions (albeit understrength), a panzergrenadier division, and 190 tanks and assault guns. The breakout saw very heavy fighting in Saint-Lo, so Bradley decided to ordre other units to assault other sections of the German front lines. One of these attacks would take place at Guilberville, where an American division and an armored detachment would break through the German positions and circle around Saint-Lo to cut off the German forces there. If they were unable to break through, however, they would succeed in luring German forces away from Saint-Lo, which would make the breakthough easier.

American assault
The Americans advanced from three sides: infantry advanced from the east and west while a Willys MB jeep cruised up the center of the front. The Americans secured mucch of the lands in front of them without a fight, but shots were fired on the right flank of the American army as their infantry defended their position on a hill from Wehrmacht assault troops advancing through a farm's field. The Americans held their position on the right flank as more American troops poured onto the battlefield to secure the crossroads at the center of the village. American armor and infantry captured the crossroads, but the Americans had to deal with flank attacks on their left flank by the German forces, and the Americans fought against a fierce enemy. American forces secured the right flank after taking over a farm from the German troops defending it, but German troops launched a fierce counterattack to regain all lost ground.

German counterattack
The Germans sent in waves of armor to counterattack against the American forces as they made rapid gains; for a while, it seemed that the Americans were going to flank the Germans from the right. However, the German armor supported crack Wehrmacht troops in recapturing lost grounds, and the German armor drove the Americans back to the center of the town, forcing the Americans back from the farmland on the right flank. The Americans decided to fight off the counterattack with a strong defense, and the American soldiers protected the hill on the right flank from the German forces. The crossroads became a graveyard for several tanks as American and German armor clashed, and several troops on both sides were killed fighting among the ruins of the village center. American paratroopers held off many German attacks before being overwhelmed by the German reinforcements, and the Germans pushed the Americans back from the town after an hour of hard fighting. The Americans rescued their left flank from a German flank attack, but the Germans pressed the Americans hard on the farmland on both sides of the town in addition to the crossroads. The Americans were forced back, and the Germans succeeded in their counterattack.

American defense
Eventually, the German armor and infantry confined the Americans to their original lines, with most of the Americans being concentrated at the center and right sectors. The Americans on the central front attempted to retake the land in front of them, but a German tank massacred advancing American troops. M4 Sherman crewman Frank Jackson managed to escape from his burning tank and fire at the Germans with his pistol before he was killed in a brave last stand, earning him a Bronze Star for valor. The Germans held off all American attacks, but the Americans did likewise, with some US Army Rangers and paratroopers defending the right flank from German attacks. The Germans were repelled in their attacks, and they eventually decided to return to their original positions. The Americans held the lands to the south of the farmland, the only land that they gained in the offensive.

Aftermath
The Americans had gained little land and had suffered 505 casualties, but they inflicted 417 casualties on the Germans and distracted the Wehrmacht from their defense of Saint-Lo. The Americans achieved this goal, and the breakthrough at Saint-Lo was achieved despite heavy losses. Operation Cobra succeeded just a few days later, and the German 7th Army was forced back into the Falaise Gap as a result.